Passenger volumes for European air travel saw a rise during the first half of 2013, buyingbusinesstravel.com reports.

According to newly-published statistics from the Association of European Airlines (AEA), some 176 million passengers were carried by its members between January and June this year. Compared to figures for the same period of 2012, this represents a 2.9 million increase – or 1.7 per cent.

For long-haul travel, meanwhile, figures rose by around three per cent to nearly 37 million. International short- and medium-haul journeys, meanwhile, totalled roughly 97 million; an increase of 3.2 per cent.

The figures suggest that travel volumes to Europe are improving on both a domestic and global scale – which is good news for those organising events at London’s event venues and hoping for an audience from all over the world.

Not only did total passenger numbers increase, but so too did efficiency, with airlines exercising capacity constraint to drive down the cost-per-passenger totals. During H1 2013, average seat-kilometre figures rose by 1.2 per cent. Similarly, passenger load factors also increased by 1.2 per cent to a record level of 78.8 per cent.

These figures came at an optimum time for airlines, the AEA claimed, as 2013 was outlined to be a “crucial” year with many having to undertake aggressive cost-cutting exercises, travelandtourworld.com claims.